Plastic Free Statement
Back in the summer of 2020, a year no one will ever forget, I found out about Plastic free communities and applied for my first plastic free award.
As a family we are very eco conscious, so it was time to do this for my business too!
To achieve plastic free status, I had to do an audit of all the single use plastic that I use in my business and replace 3 items. I was surprised at how much I used and had never even thought about!
I decided to replace my plastic print packaging, plastic parcel tape and the plastic packaging from the chocolate that I give to clients.
You can read my first plastic free blog article here: Plastic Free Poole
Since receiving this award I have continued to replace my single use plastic items that I use in my business.
In 2024 I received my silver award for cutting out some of the "worst offenders" of single plastic items and spreading the word about the scheme. I managed to do this though an article in the local newspaper, frequently sharing on social media, and talking about it with customers and other local business owners.
In 2025, I achieved gold! I have continued to replace even more single use plastic items that I use in my business ( I have almost completely cut these out now!) hosted a beach clean complete with brand audit of the rubbish collected and continued to spread the word about plastic free communities.
Single use plastic swaps
Here are the swaps that I have made in my business (some were easier than others!)
- Plastic print packaging was replaced with brown paper envelopes or tissue paper, which are both recyclable.
- Plastic parcel tape was simply swapped for paper parcel tape. I was truly surprised why I had not thought about doing this sooner, paper parcel tape even looks better than plastic!
- The plastic bags for chocolate were replaced with paper sweetie bags and sealed with a paper sticker.
- Client snacks. I used to offer biscuit snack packs which were of course wrapped in single use plastic. This took me a long time to figure out, as I discovered that even packaging that claimed to be "compostable" was really not, as it needs certain conditions to break down, which rarely exist. At the moment I offer paper wrapped confectionery and brownies and cookies purchased directly from a bakery and stored in clip lock jars.
- Balloons and disposable decorations for cake smash sessions. As a natural , eco conscious photographer, balloons simply had to be a no no for me as soon as I started doing cake smash sessions back in 2022. All of the decorations that I use are re usable and many are upcycled from other materials.
- Single use wipes. Instead of wipes I provide cloths for cleaning baby during cake smash sessions.
- Cleaning products - Instead of wipes, or single use cleaning sprays, I use Ocean Saver anti bac cleaner and purchase refils instead of new bottles each time.
- Drinks bottles - instead of plastic bottles of water, I have a glass water carafe and re useable cups.
- Disposable changing mats were swapped out for washable ones which I absolutely love! Not only has this made a good impact on the environment, it has actually saved me money! My clients love them too, and often ask where I got them from. Reusable Baby Wipes | Cloth Baby Wipes | Cheeky Wipes
As a family we are very eco conscious, so it was time to do this for my business too!
To achieve plastic free status, I had to do an audit of all the single use plastic that I use in my business and replace 3 items. I was surprised at how much I used and had never even thought about!
I decided to replace my plastic print packaging, plastic parcel tape and the plastic packaging from the chocolate that I give to clients.
You can read my first plastic free blog article here: Plastic Free Poole
Since receiving this award I have continued to replace my single use plastic items that I use in my business.
In 2024 I received my silver award for cutting out some of the "worst offenders" of single plastic items and spreading the word about the scheme. I managed to do this though an article in the local newspaper, frequently sharing on social media, and talking about it with customers and other local business owners.
In 2025, I achieved gold! I have continued to replace even more single use plastic items that I use in my business ( I have almost completely cut these out now!) hosted a beach clean complete with brand audit of the rubbish collected and continued to spread the word about plastic free communities.
Single use plastic swaps
Here are the swaps that I have made in my business (some were easier than others!)
- Plastic print packaging was replaced with brown paper envelopes or tissue paper, which are both recyclable.
- Plastic parcel tape was simply swapped for paper parcel tape. I was truly surprised why I had not thought about doing this sooner, paper parcel tape even looks better than plastic!
- The plastic bags for chocolate were replaced with paper sweetie bags and sealed with a paper sticker.
- Client snacks. I used to offer biscuit snack packs which were of course wrapped in single use plastic. This took me a long time to figure out, as I discovered that even packaging that claimed to be "compostable" was really not, as it needs certain conditions to break down, which rarely exist. At the moment I offer paper wrapped confectionery and brownies and cookies purchased directly from a bakery and stored in clip lock jars.
- Balloons and disposable decorations for cake smash sessions. As a natural , eco conscious photographer, balloons simply had to be a no no for me as soon as I started doing cake smash sessions back in 2022. All of the decorations that I use are re usable and many are upcycled from other materials.
- Single use wipes. Instead of wipes I provide cloths for cleaning baby during cake smash sessions.
- Cleaning products - Instead of wipes, or single use cleaning sprays, I use Ocean Saver anti bac cleaner and purchase refils instead of new bottles each time.
- Drinks bottles - instead of plastic bottles of water, I have a glass water carafe and re useable cups.
- Disposable changing mats were swapped out for washable ones which I absolutely love! Not only has this made a good impact on the environment, it has actually saved me money! My clients love them too, and often ask where I got them from. Reusable Baby Wipes | Cloth Baby Wipes | Cheeky Wipes
How you can get involved
If you run your own small to medium sized business, you can also apply to become a plastic free champion:
Home - Plastic Free Communities (local groups can also get involved)
If you don't own a business, you can make your own swaps at home, every little helps. Perhaps you could use some of my ideas above, or you can check out more suggestions, including a step-by-step guide on how to make your own beeswax wraps in a blog that I wrote for Plastic Free July in 2022:
Plastic Free July
If you run your own small to medium sized business, you can also apply to become a plastic free champion:
Home - Plastic Free Communities (local groups can also get involved)
If you don't own a business, you can make your own swaps at home, every little helps. Perhaps you could use some of my ideas above, or you can check out more suggestions, including a step-by-step guide on how to make your own beeswax wraps in a blog that I wrote for Plastic Free July in 2022:
Plastic Free July
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